I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned up at Newcastle Falcons Rugby Ground for what was the second Happy Cats Hallowe’en ball. There were a number of reasons for this. Firstly, I am used to seeing them have to work an audience to win them over; something they’ve always achieved even with the most hostile crowds. Secondly the usual three man line up was augmented for the evening with the addition of some well known, highly respected musicians. There was Lindisfarne legend ray Laidlaw on drums, his one time colleague, Steve Cunningham on bass and Nick Thompson on mandolin and fiddle. I had reservations about the big band line up. However the evening turned out to be an absolute triumph for the band. Playing to a large crowd of faithful fans encouraged them to include more of their own material. Everyone seemed to know the words to all of the tracks from the CD "Follow the Moon". Talking of faithful fans, I thought my sight was failing me. Although Marty Craggs was clearly singing and playing on stage I kept seeing clones scattered around the place. It was only when they all got up to dance that I realised they were all dressed as the Man Himself in his regular stage costume of khaki shorts and Follow the Moon T-shirts. If impersonation really is the highest form of flattery, Marty must have felt pretty pleased with himself. My worries about the line up soon disappeared. The recruits had clearly worked hard to sound as if they had always been members of the band. Steve Cunningham is really a superb bass player and Nick Thompson’s virtuosity added some spellbinding texture to these lovely tunes. What can you say about Mr Laidlaw that hasn’t been said already. Despite the occasionally contorted facial expressions peculiar to drummers, he makes the business of drumming look ridiculously easy. He gave the impression of a guy who was having a good time. He’s lost none of his flair since his unexpected early retirement last year. Also, Les Dodds, freed from being a one man rhythm section, was able to demonstrate his considerable talents on the guitar and Brian Duffy, a consummate professional musician, seemed to have even more than the usual spring in his step. Orchestrating the whole affair, Marty Craggs treated us to the whole gamut of his musicianship, although it was quite late in the evening before he finally strapped on his sax. The set included all the favourites and most of the Follow the Moon tracks. There was an interlude when an excellent Irish dance group gave a breathtaking performance. Mainly young girls there was one boy who was amazingly gifted. He had every right to bounce a bit. When I was his age there was only the cubs or the ATC. The dancers were followed by Marty calling the numbers for a charity bingo game. The second half was all action and the clear space in front of the band was soon full of dancers and the party atmosphere built from there. A rousing rendition of Meet Me On The Corner, before which Ray Laidlaw asked, "How does this one go?" signalled that the end of an amazing event was drawing nigh. The wonderful Follow The Moon, title track of the CD is now a regular encore track and it rounded of the evening perfectly. The Happy Cats continue to go from strength to strength. I am sure that there will be further gigs with an extended line up and that this will not be the last gig of this type with a large enthusiastic audience. I’d love to see them again at this venue and will again avoid the use of any rugby puns although I have to report that I sat close to two of my heroes on the plane back to Heathrow. They were Dan Luger and Johnny Wilkinson. You know - It Doesn’t Come Any Better Than This.